Data network related arrangement (multilateral )

ABSTRACT

The present invention concerns a data network related information-carrying and information-transferring arrangement, that includes a central unit ( 10 ) and a number of slave units ( 11, 15 ), which co-act with said central unit ( 10 ) via information-transmission ( 1 ), wherewith a document (D) can be sent to the central unit ( 10 ) from a chosen slave unit ( 11 ). The electronic document (D) includes protected text (d 1 ) and at least one (d 2 ) signature of a number of requisite signatures and can be sent to the central unit ( 10 ), wherein the central unit is adapted to check the document (D) automatically with regard to chosen aspects of the document. The central unit is also adapted to send the document (D), bearing the electronic signature, automatically to each of the remaining ( 15 ) parties that are required to sign the agreement document in order for the agreement to be binding. Each of these parties signs the document (D) electronically and returns it to the central unit ( 10 ), which thereafter initiates activation of the agreed measures via available means ( 24 ).  
     The arrangement enables a multi-lateral agreement to be reached between two or more parties (A, B), where chosen slave units ( 11, 15 ) are assigned to one party (A) and chosen slave units ( 13, 16 ) are assigned to the other party (B).

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a data network related arrangement andmore particularly to such an arrangement that provides aninformation-carrying and information-transferring facility betweenconnected units and/or stations.

The inventive arrangement includes a central unit and a number oftwo-way information transfer units that can co-act with the centralunit, said two-way units being referred to as slave units in thefollowing text and can be designated “clients” in the case of certaintransactions.

One information transfer mode, initialised by the central unit, which incertain transactions can be designated “session”, in respect of one ormore of the slave units will normally be preceded by an authenticatinghandshake procedure established there between.

An information transfer mode, initialised by a selected slave unit, inrespect of said central unit shall necessarily be preceded by anauthenticating handshake procedure established there between.

A document can be sent from a slave unit to the central unit and viceversa, subsequent to having established an accepted information transfervia said authenticating handshake procedure.

The present invention finds particular use with regard to exchangingdocuments between one or more chosen slave units and the central unit,or vice versa, where the document bears or can be provided with anelectronic signature related to said slave unit.

By the expression “electronic signature” is meant in the followingdescription that a person, authorised to sign such a document, signselectronically a transmitted electronic document and returns saiddocument duly signed.

The present invention is primarily based on the establishment of amultilateral session, established between two or more parties whileusing an intermediary central unit.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

It is earlier known a number of mutually different data network relatedinformation-carrying and information-transferring systems to create anarrangement that includes a central unit and a number of slave units,which can each co-act with the central unit, via the transfer ofinformation over the data network.

It is also known to allow such an arrangement to create conditions whichenable the central unit to initiate an information transfer mode orsession in respect of one or more of said slave units, and vice versa.

This information transfer can then be preceded by an authenticatinghandshake procedure established there between, so as to create therebyconditions, which enable document-related information to be transferredin an accepted and secure fashion.

With regard to significant features of the present invention, it canalso be mentioned that there are also known to the art different systemsand arrangements that allow electronic documents, signed electronicallyby an authorised signatory of the company, to be sent to a central unit,or to a receiving slave unit via said central unit, where a thus appliedsignature can be considered as an original signature by virtue of theauthenticating handshake procedure.

With regard to embodiments and applications proposed, in accordance withthe present invention, it can be mentioned that there are known to theart different arrangements that enable economic transactions to beperformed, by enabling one or more slave units or clients to beconnected over an established data network with an economic transactionintermediary central unit, for example a banking system or the like.

In the case of this latter application, there are known to the artdifferent processes for protecting the text of a document and tosecurely establish a session via an information transfer between aclient and a bank, such as to enable an economic transaction to becarried out without the client needing to be present physically in thebank premises.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

Technical Problems

When taking into consideration the technical deliberations that a personskilled in this particular art must make in order to provide a solutionto one or more technical problems that he/she encounters, it will beseen that on the one hand it is necessary initially to realise themeasures and/or the sequence of measures that must be undertaken to thisend, and on the other hand to realise which means is/are required tosolve one or more of said problems. On this basis, it will be evidentthat the technical problems listed below are highly relevant to thedevelopment of the present invention.

When considering the prior art as described above, it will be seen thata technical problem resides in the ability to create and to configure adata network related arrangement that has a multilateral application,where an electronic document can be transferred from one or more slaveunits to a central unit or vice versa, where said document requires anauthorised signature from each of a number of authorised signatories,each associated with his/her own part of an agreement, and where saiddocument may also include one or more electronic signatures during theinterchange phase between said two parties, while monitoring theinterchange phases with the aid of said central unit.

It will also be seen that a technical problem resides in creating afunctional arrangement which will enable an agreement or contract to besigned or an electronic legal transaction or legal document to be signedelectronically by all involved parties more efficiently, withoutrequiring all persons involved to gather at one and the same place whensaid persons are known or are able to identify themselves.

It will also be seen that a technical problem resides, to this end, inproviding an arrangement, which can be followed synchronously by thecentral unit but which can be carried out sequentially andasynchronously without requiring the parties involved in the agreementto gather together at the same time and in the same place.

Another technical problem resides in the ability to realise thesignificance of and the advantages afforded by using in this regard anelectronic document that is provided with a text-protected agreementtext and/or text-protected signature or signatures and the requirementof one or more necessary further signatures, and to send this documentto the central unit from a first slave unit and from a party to theagreement.

Another technical problem resides in the ability to realise thesignificance of and the advantages afforded by adapting the central unitto check the document automatically in respect of chosen and applicablefeatures.

Another technical problem resides in the ability to realise thesignificance of and the advantages afforded by allowing said check toinclude at least one of the following features: a check to ascertainthat the text of the agreement document is protected; a check toascertain that one or more of the accompanying signaturesconsists/consist of one or more requisite electronic signatures; and acheck to ascertain what other electronic signatures are required inorder for the multilateral agreement to be valid and legally binding.

It will also be seen that a technical problem resides in the ability torealise the significance of and the advantages afforded by adapting saidcentral unit to send said received electronic document, bearing one ormore electronic signatures, automatically to each of the remainingparties required to sign the document or the agreement electronically,in order to make the agreement binding between two or more parties.

Another technical problem resides in the ability to realise thesignificance of and the advantages afforded by allowing each of theseremaining parties to sign the document electronically and then to returnthe document to the central unit, which then checks the contents of thedocument, such as the text of the agreement, whether or not the text isstill protected, and that the accompanying electronic signatures consistof authorised signatures from all parties to the agreement.

Another technical problem resides in the ability to realise thesignificance of and the advantages afforded by causing the central unitto activate automatically available means, for initiating and carryingout the conditions established and chosen in the document and/or thetext of the agreement, when the document and/or the agreement has beensigned by all authorised parties and duly checked.

Still another technical problem resides in the ability to createconditions in respect of the central unit such that it can be determinedthat the person or persons who has/have signed a document on behalf ofone or all agreement parties is truly authorised to sign the document inquestion.

In the case of an arrangement of the kind concerned here, when such adocument shall be signed by a number of authorised persons in respect ofa part of a multilateral agreement, a technical problem resides in theability to realise the significance of and the advantages afforded bycreating conditions which enable the central unit to establish readilyand automatically which persons are authorised and to allow each of saidpersons to send the document concerned electronically and thereafterobtain the document in return duly signed by each of the authorisedpersons within a given time frame.

Another technical problem is one of being able to realise thesignificance of and the advantages afforded by allowing said document tocontain or to have added thereto information concerning those personswho have the required authority to sign the document on behalf of oneparty and are in amicable accord with a document-carried andtext-protected instruction or agreement sent to the central unit.

Another technical problem resides in the ability to realise thesignificance of and the advantages afforded by allowing the central unitto include first means, for checking whether or not authority-relatedinformation given for all parties to the agreement is correct, accordingto a register accessible to the central unit.

A further technical problem resides in the ability to realise thesignificance of and the advantages afforded by providing the centralunit with second means which, when said information is correct, can beinitialised and activated such as to allow the central unit to carry outthe measures stated in the incoming and duly signed document inaccordance with issued instructions or agreements.

The present invention finds particular application when the central unitconsists of or is related to a banking institution or like operator andwhere said instructions shall be related to an economic transactionand/or to another transaction which is of the utmost importance to theparties in general.

Another technical problem is allied with allowing said instruction tothe central unit to be related to an agreement between two or moreparties each having a slave unit set-up, and where the central unitprimarily serves as a mediator/data exchange.

Another technical problem resides in the ability to realise thesignificance of and the advantages afforded by creating conditions thatenable the central unit to include or to co-act with third means,functioning automatically to copy said document and its protectedagreement text with instructions or agreements and one or moreelectronic signatures from a first party on the one hand, and to sendsuch a copy automatically to each person who shall sign the documentconcerned electronically in their authoritative capacity in respect ofthe first party and/or a second party or further parties, on the otherhand.

Another technical problem resides in the ability to realise thesignificance of and the advantages afforded by enabling the central unitto send automatically to each person who shall sign the documentelectronically in their authoritative capacity in respect of a secondparty in the document and the agreement, when each person associatedwith a first party in his authoritative capacity has sent electronicallyto the central unit his copy of the document containing instructions oragreements and duly signed electronically.

A technical problem also resides in realising the significance of andthe advantages afforded by allowing the central unit to include or toco-act with fourth means, that functions to assist in carrying outnecessary authority checks in an archive or filing department forrelevant powers of attorney concerning all parties to the agreement.

A technical problem also resides in the ability to realise thesignificance of and the advantages afforded by allowing said archive toinclude a number of organisation identities, such as organisationnumbers, current e-mail addresses, legal domiciles, registered offices,seats, certificates relating to private keys, and the like pertaining toall parties to the agreement.

Another technical problem resides in the ability to realise thesignificance of and the advantages afforded by allowing the central unitto co-act with or to include fifth means, adapted for the registrationof powers of attorney, where possibilities exist to change storedinformation for all or chosen parties to the agreement, such as theduration of a power of attorney, activation of blocking functions and/orthe insertion of new information, where said new information can eitherbe entered via the central unit or via a relevant slave unit.

Another technical problem resides in the ability to realise thesignificance of and the advantages associated with allowing such apower-of-attorney register to include a number of authority codesrelated to all or selected parties to the agreement.

Another technical problem resides in the ability to realise thesignificance of allowing said authority codes to be structured toestablish those connections tied to a chosen document with a choseninstruction or a chosen agreement.

In addition, the present invention allows a first authority code todenote that the authority required is the signatures of the entireboard, that a second authority code denotes that the authority requiredis two or more given persons in combination, a third authority codedenotes that the authority required is the signature of the ManagingDirector (current matters, usual routines), a fourth authority codedenotes that the authority required is a message to a member of theBoard of Directors, such as the Chairman of the Board, and a fifthauthority code denotes that the authority required is a financial powerof attorney.

Solution

The present invention thus relates to an earlier known data networkrelated, information-carrying and information-transferring arrangement,which includes at least one central unit and at least a number of slaveunits that can co-act with the central unit via information transfer,and where an information-transfer mode initialised by the central unitin respect of one or more of said slave units can be preceded by anauthenticating handshake procedure established there between, whereas aninformation transfer mode initialised by a chosen slave unit withrespect to said central unit is to be preceded by an authenticatinghandshake procedure established there between, whereafter an electronicdocument can be sent from a chosen slave unit to the central unit, orvice versa.

With the intention of solving one or more of the aforesaid technicalproblems, it is proposed, in accordance with the invention, that anelectronic document concerning a multilateral agreement and providedwith protected text and at least one of a number of requisite electronicsignatures in respect of a first party can be sent to the central unit,said central unit being adapted to check the document automatically withregard to selected and applicable features.

The check shall consist of at least one of the following features: acheck to ascertain whether or not the text of the agreement document isprotected; a check to ascertain whether or not an accompanying signatureor signatures consists/consist of at least one of a number of requisiteelectronic signatures; and a check to ascertain which other electronicsignatures are required in respect of the parties to the agreement inorder for the agreement to be binding.

The central unit is also adapted to send said document automatically,bearing at least one electronic signature from one party, to each of theremaining parties that need to sign the agreement text in order for themultilateral agreement to be binding.

Each of these remaining parties sign the document electronically andreturn it electronically to the central unit, which checks whether ornot the text of the agreement document is still protected and thataccompanying signatures have been signed by authorised and relevantparties to the agreement.

When the agreement text has duly been signed by all authorised parties,the central unit automatically activates means for initiating theconditions established and chosen in the text of the agreement.

By way of suggested embodiments, that lie within the scope of thepresent invention, it is proposed that the document shall contain orhave attached (married) thereto information concerning the person orpersons to which requisite authority has been assigned to endorse andelectronically sign said document so that said document will be legallybinding to the benefit of a party to the agreement, said document sentto the central unit carrying one or more instructions and/or one or moreagreements.

In this regard, it is proposed that the central unit will include firstmeans, for checking in a register accessible to the central unit whetheror not determined and/or delivered authority-related information iscorrect or not.

If the information is incorrect, the slave unit concerned is informed ofthe situation.

If the information is correct, the central unit will cause theactivation of second means, which can be initialised to allow thecentral unit to carry out the measures given in the incoming document,in accordance with the instructions or agreements entered on thedocument.

By way of suggested embodiments, that lie within the scope of theinventive concept, it is proposed that said instruction to the centralunit, a banking unit, telecom company or the like, may be related to aneconomic transaction agreed between two or more parties.

According to the invention, the instruction to the central unit may berelated to an agreement between two chosen parties, who each havehis/her own slave unit, where the central unit shall function as anintermediary.

It is also proposed that the central unit shall include or co-act withthird means, which functions to allow the document with its instructionsor agreements to be copied on the one hand, and to send such a copy toeach person who shall electronically sign the document in his/hercapacity of an authority with respect to a first party in an agreement.

It is also proposed that when each of said persons has returned his/hercopy of the duly electronically signed document in his/her authoritativecapacity, in a reliable fashion, the central unit will function to sendautomatically a copy of the thus signed document to each one of a secondparty in the agreement who shall electronically sign the document inhis/her authoritative capacity.

It is also proposed in accordance with the invention that the centralunit will include or co-act with fourth means, for carrying outrequisite authority checks in an archive containing relevant powers ofattorney.

The archive shall include a number of organisation identities, and it isproposed, in accordance with the invention, that these identities willinclude organisation numbers, current e-mail addresses, company seats,certificates concerning private keys, or the like.

The present invention also enables the central unit to co-act with or toinclude fifth means, for registering powers of attorney related to allparties to the agreement, where the possibility exists of changingstored information, such as the duration of an appointment, activationof a blocking function and/or the addition of new information.

More particularly, it is proposed, in accordance with the invention,that a number of authority codes applicable to all agreement parties canbe entered into the power-of-attorney register.

These qualification codes or authority codes shall be structured so thatthey can determine conditions that are tied to a chosen instructionand/or a chosen agreement.

It is proposed in particular that;

-   -   a first authority code shall denote, in order for the document        to be valid, that it must be signed by the entire Board;    -   a second authority code shall denote that the document must be        signed by two or more given persons in order to be valid;    -   a third authority code shall denote that the document shall be        signed by the Managing Director (standard issues) in order to be        valid;    -   a fourth authority code shall denote that the document must be        signed by a member of the Board, such as the Chairman, in order        to be valid; and    -   a fifth authority code shall denote that the required authority        is a so-called financial power of attorney.        Advantages

Those advantages primarily significant to a data network related,information-carrying and information-transferring, arrangement reside inthe provision of conditions that enable a central unit to carry outinstructions and/or agreements obtained through the medium of anelectronic document compiled in one or more slave units, while retaininga secure authenticating handshake procedure, and where the central unitcan readily check electronically which persons are authorised to signthe document concerned electronically, relating to a current documentcarrying instructions or agreements applicable to all parties to theagreement.

In accordance with the invention, the central unit is able to determineand/or to check whether or not determined and/or supplied authorityinformation is correct or not, via an available register, wherewith thecentral unit is able to take the responsibility of sending a documentcontaining chosen instructions or agreements to each of the authorisedparties participating in the agreement, and also to receive from each ofsaid authorised parties electronically composed signatures, all duringthe establishment of an authenticating handshake procedure.

This provides a functional arrangement which enables the signing ofagreement documents or other legal documents concerning multilateralagreements to be effected more efficiently, with a central unit actingas an intermediary and without the persons concerned needing to gatherin one and the same place where they are known or can identifythemselves.

The invention provides a virtual gathering space and enables anasynchronous session to be carried out.

The primary characteristic features of an inventive data network relatedand information-carrying and information-transferring arrangement areset forth in the characterising clause of the accompanying Claim 1.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A data network related, information-carrying andinformation-transferring, arrangement, at present preferred, comprisinga central unit and a number of slave units, that are able to co-act withsaid central unit via information transmission and that each formsparties within a two-parties included agreement, will now be describedin more detail by way of example with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which;

FIG. 1 is a greatly simplified overview of the data network relatedarrangement, that includes a central unit and a few slave units, whichall are able to co-act with the central unit and which are co-ordinatedto represent two different parties related to an agreement;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating different means and functionsassigned to the central unit, which acts as an intermediary in aninformation transfer mode from and to one of said slave units; and

FIG. 3 is a simplified function diagram illustrating the co-actionbetween said central unit and a number of slave units in the interchangeof a document that needs to be signed by an authorised representative ofeach agreement party.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS AT PRESENT PREFERRED

It is pointed out initially that we have chosen to use, in the followingdescription of embodiments at present preferred and includingsignificant characterristic features of the invention and illustratedfurther in the figures of the accompanying drawings, special terms andterminology with the intention of illustrating the inventive conceptmore clearly.

However, it will be noted that the expressions chosen here shall not beseen as limited solely to the chosen terms used in the description, butthat each term chosen shall be interpreted as also including alltechnical equivalents that function in the same or at least essentiallythe same way so as to achieve the same or essentially the same intentionand/or technical effect.

FIG. 1 is a greatly simplified illustration of a data network related,information-carrying and information-transferring arrangement 1. Thearrangement includes a central unit 10 and a number of slave units 11,12, 13, 14, 15 and 16, which are able to co-act with the central unit.The slave units 11, 15 are assigned to a first party “A”, whereas theslave units 13, 15 are assigned to a second party “B”, both of saidparties being included in an information transfer with the central unit10 as an intermediary and a control unit in connection with amultilateral agreement.

The invention is primarily concerned with an application establishedbetween two parties, a first party “A” and a second party “B” in amultilateral session. It will be understood, however, that themultilateral session may also engage other parties.

This information transfer can be achieved with the aid of each of saidslave units, via an information-carrying and information-transferringsystem “I”.

The data network system “Internet” may well be used in the arrangementillustrated in FIG. 1, said “Internet”-system being referenced “I” inFIG. 1.

The person skilled in this particular field is well aware of theinformation carrying or transfer sequences and information transfermodes or sessions that can be established between the central unit andone or more of the slave units 11 to 16 and how similar informationcarrying connections can be achieved between one or more of the slaveunits 11 to 16 and the central unit 10.

It will also be obvious to a person skilled in this technical field thatthe illustrated central unit 10 may exist as a plurality of differentunits, this being illustrated schematically in FIG. 1 by the referencesign or numeral 10′.

Correspondingly, a plurality of slave units, such as those referenced11′ and 14′ can, of course, co-act with said central unit 10 or theadditional central unit 10′.

It will also be obvious to one skilled in this particular art that rulesand protocol are required for the signal transmission of an electronicdocument containing one or more instructions and/or one or moreagreement clauses. However, for the sake of clarity, such rules andprotocols have not been described in this document.

It is mentioned, however, that at least when a document related to aneconomic arrangement and transactions shall be sent by the central unit,say the central unit 10, the unit is required to initiate an informationtransfer mode or session to one or more relevant slave units or clientsand one or more parties included in the multilateral agreement, suchinitiation being preceded by a handshake procedure.

A number of such handshake procedures are known to the art and will nottherefore be described in detail.

More specifically, each information transfer mode shall be preceded byan authenticating handshake procedure established between relevantparties.

An information transfer mode initialised in respect of the central unit10 by a chosen slave unit, such as the slave unit 11, shall be precededby an authenticating handshake procedure established there between.

An electronic “document” can then be sent from the slave unit 11 to thecentral unit 10.

A “document”, according to the present invention, may convenientlyconsist of one or more instructions, sent from a slave unit 11 to acentral unit 10, to enable the central unit 10 to execute the giveninstructions and report the measures carried out back to the slave unit.

A “document”, according to the present invention, may also consist of anagreement that requires a commitment between two or more slave units,belonging to a first party “A”, such as slave units 11 and 15, whereinthe central unit 10 shall be included as an intermediary and/or as aguarantor in respect of an economic transaction.

A number of slave units, such as 11, 15, may be associated with a firstparty “A” and a second number of slave units 13, 16 may be associatedwith a second party “B”, in respect of an agreement or contract.

FIG. 1 illustrates an information transfer mode, referenced M10, 11,between the central unit 10 and the slave unit 11, and an informationtransfer mode, referenced M11, 10, between the slave unit 11 and thecentral unit 10.

Also shown is an information transfer mode, referenced M10, 15, betweenthe central unit 10 and the slave unit 15, and an information transfermode, referenced M15, 10, from the slave unit 15 to the central unit 10.

As will be understood, each information transfer mode that shall beestablished between the central unit 10 and one or more slave units 13,16, and vice versa, can be identified by reference signs based on theafore described structure.

The features of the invention will now be described in more detail withreference to an electronic “document”, with which two authorisedelectronic signatures are required of a first party “A”, in order forthe document to be legally accepted, wherewith the signed document issent from the slave unit 11 to the central unit 10.

The document “D” may contain, inter alia, instructions to the centralunit 10 and an agreement, applicable between at least two parties “A”and “B”.

In order for the unit 10 to be able to carry out its task, it is assumedthat the unit 10 requires two authoritative electronic signatures fromtwo different persons of which each has a slave unit and is authorisedby a first party “A”.

Should electronic signatures be required from more than two differentpersons, in respect of the first party “A”, the procedure associatedwith these conditions will be obvious.

It is assumed that the document “D”, shown in FIG. 2, includes anagreement text “d1” and a single electronic signature “d2” when receivedby the unit 10 from the slave unit 11.

The unit 10 checks, inter alia, the electronic signature “d2” and whenit is found to be correct causes the document to be copied, togetherwith the signature, and sends the document to a selected second slaveunit 15 for an electronic signature “d3” from an authorised person,belonging to the first party “A”, whose signature is missing from thedocument, where after the electronically signed document (D′) (d1, d2,d3) is returned to the central unit 10 (M15, 10), which then performsfurther requisite instructions subsequent to having made an automaticcheck.

FIG. 2 is a principle diagram illustrating the central unit 10.

An information transfer mode or session, referenced M10, 11 (M10, 15)initialised by the central unit 10 in respect of one or more of saidslave units, such as the unit 11 (15), may be preceded by anauthenticating handshake procedure established there between andrelating to the party “A”, illustrated as a function block 21 in FIG. 2.

An information transfer mode or session initialised by a chosen slaveunit 11 (15) in respect of said central unit 10, referenced (M11, 10(M15, 10) shall be preceded by an authenticating handshake procedureestablished there between, this procedure being illustrated as afunction block 21 a.

Corresponding functions in the slave unit 11 (15), now shown in FIG. 2with reference signs 21, 21 a, have not been drawn or shown in thedrawing.

A document “D”, including instructions in accordance with the above, isnow sent from the slave unit 11 to the central unit 10 and received in areceiving circuit 22 a and linked therefrom to a central processor unit23.

The central unit 10 co-acts with the first means 101, with the aid ofthe central processor 23, to determine and/or check in a registeravailable to the central unit whether or not the determined and/orstated authority information is correct in respect of party “A”, inrespect of party “B” and in respect of other parties if so required.

In this regard, it can be conceived that the document “D” carriesinformation “d6” concerning those persons that are authorised to sign inrespect of party “A” and in respect of party “B”, this check beingcarried out in the unit 10 and in the means 101.

It is also conceivable that the document “D” includes an extract from acurrent registration document.

It is also conceivable to store in the means 101 a list of persons thatare authorised to sign, on behalf of the company, with respect tospecific assignments or commissions for both party “A” and party “B”.

It is assumed that the check carried out in means 101 is positive,wherewith the central processor 23 is caused to co-act with a secondmeans 102 so as to allow the central unit 10 to carry out the steps andmeasures given on the incoming document (D) in accordance with statedinstructions or agreements.

The document “D” can be sent to a slave unit 15 for signing, andreturned as a document (D′) to the central unit 10.

The measures taken can be initialised with the aid of a circuit 24.

The document “D” will preferably include or have added thereto one ormore pieces of information concerning those persons who have therequisite authority to endorse the instructions or the agreements statedon the document sent to the central unit 10.

Thus, in the case of this application, the document “D” includesprotected agreement text and/or instructions “d1” and places “d2”, “d3”and “d4” where the document shall be signed electronically by authorisedpersons, where “d2” and “d3” are intended in respect of a first party“A” whereas the blank place or box “d4” is intended for the signature ofa second party “B”.

The document “D” thus includes information concerning those persons thatare authorised to sign the document that bears the instructions or theagreement “d1”. Alternatively, there can be added to the document “d1” afurther document “d” which bears electronic information relating tothose persons that have the necessary authority to sign the documentbearing said instructions or agreements. By way of a furtheralternative, this information may be stored in the central unit 10 andrelated to the parties concerned.

In this particular case, the central unit 10 may comprise a bank or someother economic, financial institution and the instructions “d1” sent tothe central unit 10 may be related solely to an economic transactionbetween two parties “A” and “B”, with the central unit 10 acting as anintermediary and the finalizer of the transaction.

The document “D”, sent to the central unit 10 and bearing saidinstructions, is primarily related to the central unit that shall carryout the measures required.

This central unit 10 shall thus carry out such measures as obtainingsignatures from all persons concerned, carrying out the economictransaction and therewith ensure that one account number is billed whileanother account number is credited a corresponding sum, wherewith thecentral unit 10 charges a fee for carrying out the economic transaction.

It is assumed that the person sending the document “D” to the centralunit 10 is authorised and that he/she can sign his/her nameelectronically at “d2”.

The unit 10 copies the document “D” signed at “d2”, and sends the copyelectronically to the e-mail address applicable to the person who shallsign the document electronically at “d3” and who belongs to the party“A”.

If the document requires the signature of another person belonging tothe party “A”, such as at “d4”, the document is sent to this person viathe output circuit 24.

Immediately the central unit 10 receives the document duly signed at“d2” and “d2” in respect of the one party “A” and at “d4” in respect ofthe second party “B”, the commission can be carried out and finalisedsubsequent to required checks having been made.

In this particular case, the instruction to the central unit 10 isrelated to an “agreement” between two parties “A” and “B”, where oneparty “A” is assigned the slave units 11, 15 and the second party “B” isassigned the slave units 13, 16, wherein each shall sign at “d4”.

Such an embodiment, in which an agreement shall be valid between twogroups of slave units 11, 15 and 13, 16 respectively, and the centralunit 10 shall function as an active or inactive intermediary, there isrequired in the central unit 10 a function system that can be describedschematically in the following way.

The document “D” passes to the central process 23 in the same way asthat earlier described.

The central processor 23 now co-acts with a third means 103, which isinstrumental in copying the document “D” containing agreements “d1” andsignatures

The central processor 23 can now create conditions which enable such acopy D′ to be sent electronically to each person who is authorised tosign the document electronically on behalf of his/her respective party“A” and “B”, wherewith each of said persons returns the document to theunit 10 within a given time period and the unit 10 carries out thecommission subsequent to checks having been carried out.

In the case of the FIG. 2 embodiment, a copy (D) (d1, d2) is sent to theslave unit 15 for signing and its return to the unit 10, with the aid ofan authenticating handshake procedure, wherewith the unit 10 copies thedocument (D′) (d1, d2, d3) received and sends said document to the slaveunit 13 and/or 16 for signing by the party “B”.

It is thus assumed that the document “D” sent to the central processor23 has been signed by an authorised person at “d2” on behalf of a firstparty, and that the document requires a further electronic signature“d3” from the first party “A”, where it is assumed that the signature“d3” shall be obtained from the slave unit 15, whereas an electronicsignature “d4” belonging to the second party “B” shall be obtained viathe slave unit 13 and/or 16.

The central processor 23 deals with copying of the document “D” that hasfirst been sent from the slave unit 11 to the unit 10, and sends a copyto the slave unit 15.

When the slave unit 15 has electronically signed the document, thedocument is returned to the central processor 23, which, in a furthersequence, sends the document (D′) bearing the signatures of the twoauthorised persons “d2” and “d3” respectively to the second party “B”for signing at “d4” or for further signatures.

When each responsible person of the first party “A” has duly signed thedocument carrying said instructions or agreements and has sent thedocument to the central unit 10, the central unit 10 thus sends a copyof the thus completed, signed document bearing said instructions oragreements through the medium of the central processor to each one ofthe second party “B” required to sign the document in their capacity ofan authorised signatory, said copies being sent to each personsimultaneously or in succession.

The central unit 10 that includes the central processor 23 also includesfourth means 104, functioning to carry out requisite authority checks.

This fourth means has the form of an archive 104, which is able toinclude a number of different organisation identities, such asorganisation numbers, current e-mail addresses, company seats,certificates relating to private keys required to sign presenteddocuments electronically.

The central unit 10, which includes the central processor 23, co-actswith or includes fifth means 105, for registering powers of attorney,where it is possible to alter stored information, such as the durationof a term of appointment, the activation of blocking functions and/orthe insertion of new data, as illustrated with an arrow in FIG. 2.

A number of authority codes are included in the register 105.

These authority codes are structured and party-sorted so that conditionstied to a chosen instruction or to a chosen agreement based on areceived document can be determined.

In this regard, it is proposed;

-   -   that a first authority code denotes that the required authority        consists in the entire Board members signing the electronic        document “D”;    -   that a second authority code denotes that the authority required        consists of two or more name given persons in combination;    -   that a third authority code denotes that the authority required        exists solely in the signature of the Managing Director (routine        business matters);    -   that a fourth authority code denotes that the authority required        exists in a message being sent to a chosen board member, such as        a document sent to the Chairman of the Board electronically; and    -   that a fifth authority code requires the presentation of a        so-called financial power of attorney.

More generally, the set-up and the use of the arrangement can begenerally described as allowing a person, represented by the slave unit11, to open a case with the aid of his/her PIN code.

The case obtains the form of a document “D” and is allotted an identity.

The text “d1” is then entered into the document “D”, i.e. information oragreement terms can be entered in the document.

Such a text can be protected against alterations (or text protected)with the aid of an electronic seal.

Those persons in party “A” and in party “B” required to sign thedocument (d2, d3 and (d4) respectively) in order for the document to bevalid and legally binding are then noted, and a critical time frame,such as a date, within which the document shall be signed by allrelevant persons, may be included therein.

The central unit 10 and the central unit processor 23 shall ensure thatthe “signature” and/or “signatures” from persons represented by relevantslave units 11, 15, 13, 16 are in place, and that all other persons, whoshall sign the document electronically, have also signed said documentand returned it to the central unit 10.

The present invention provides the possibility of liberating thesignatories concerned from time and space (room) in respect of signingthe document, since said parties are allowed to sign the documentelectronically in virtual space.

It will thus be obvious that the persons, represented by said slaveunits 11, 15; 13, 16, can take part in agreement processes and sign anddetermine the validity of the document electronically, regardless of thegeographical positions of individual slave units.

The process is able to follow the electronic signatures of the remainingauthorised persons asynchronously during the actual agreement process,via the central unit 10 and primarily the central processor 23,wherewith the agreement process can be completed sequentially andasynchronously.

Any updating of the power-of-attorney register and any possiblepower-of-attorney archive is effected in real time.

The invention also offers an advanced checking pattern for distributionof the cases in different stages, wherewith termination between theparties, i.e. between selected slave units and the central unitrespectively, can be effected via open networks or closed networks, viaencryption in the most suitable case.

FIG. 3 is a simplified schematic illustration of a function schedule forco-action between the central unit 10 and a number of slave units 11,15, when exchanging a document between a first party “A” and a secondparty “B” with the central unit 10 acting as an intermediary.

More particularly, a block 31 indicates the presence of a companycertificate, and a block 32 indicates the presence of a private key,available to an authorised person belonging to the one party “A”.

Reference numeral 33 is intended to illustrate the structure of acompiled document “D” that includes agreement text (d1) and a signature(d2), the text of said agreement being protected via a block 33 a.

Block 33 b is intended to show that other information, such asinformation intended directly for the central unit 34 (10), can beentered into the document “D”.

Such information may include a list of persons who shall sign thedocument, together with their electronic addresses; any symmetry in thesequence in which the document shall be signed; a time plan with respectto signing of the document.

The central unit 34 co-acts with a block 34 a representing current“business rules” for current businesses, assignments or tasks.

Block 34 b represents checking surfaces adapted, inter alia, to checkthe receipt of company certificate 31, used private key 32, relevanttext protection 33 a, public keys, time plans, etc.

Block 34 c represents an authority register which either checks thatinformation given on the document “D” is correct and that the documentis signed by authorised signatories, in accordance with the structure ofthe document.

Block 34 d represents a sequence of authorised signatories and/or a listof the signatories required in accordance with the measures concerned.

When the check has been carried out and the correct authority withregard to the one party “A” has been chosen, the document “D” bearingthe signature “d2” and produced via the blocks 31, 32 is copied and sentto the slave unit 15 and the person concerned represented electronicallyby the block 33′.

This person signs the document via the company certificate 31′ andhis/her private key 32′. The signed document (D′) is returned to thecentral unit 34, which checks the document in control circuits 34 b′ atleast with regard to

-   -   a. the correct authority with regard to all persons that have        signed the document on behalf of party “A”;    -   b. the correct sequence when this criterion is required;    -   c. the correct electronic signature/signatures;    -   d. the correct time schedule; and    -   e. the correct text protection and a check to ensure that this        protection has not been broken.

When these criteria have been fulfilled, the central unit 34automatically initialises copying of the document (D′), which is nowsent simultaneously to all slave units 13, 16 that shall sign thedocument on behalf of the second party “B”, or is sent to said slaveunit 13, 16 in sequence.

FIG. 3 shows that the document (D′) is sent to the slave unit 13, whichreceives the document in a circuit 13 a and signs the document at “d4”via a company certificate 13 b and a private key 13 c, and thereaftersend the document (D″) to the central unit 10.

As soon as the check carried out by the central unit 10 shows that thesignatures are correct, means (24) is activated to put the agreement“d1” into practice.

The means 24 can be initialised to finalise the conditions determinedand selected in the text of the agreement.

It will be understood that the invention is not restricted to the aforedescribed and illustrated exemplifying embodiment thereof, and thatmodifications can be made within the scope of the inventive concept asillustrated in the accompanying Claims.

1. A data network related information-carrying and information-transferring arrangement, comprising a central unit and a number of slave units that can co-act with a central unit via information transmission, wherein an information transfer mode or session, initialised by the central unit in respect of one or more of said slave units, can be preceded by an authenticating handshake procedure established there between, wherein an information transfer mode or session initialised by a chosen slave unit in respect of said central unit shall be preceded by an authenticating handshake procedure established there between, where after an electronic document can be sent from a chosen slave unit to the central unit, wherein the electronic document applicable to a multilateral agreement and provided with protected text and bearing at least one signature of a number of requisite signatures in respect of a first party can be sent to the central unit, wherein the central unit is adapted to automatically check the document in respect of chosen features; wherein said check comprises at least a check to ascertain that the text of the document is protected, a check to ascertain that the electronic signature (signatures) accompanying the document consist of one or more requisite electronic signatures related to one party, and a check to ascertain which other electronic signatures are required with respect to a second party in order for the agreement to be valid; in that said central unit is adapted to send said document bearing said electronic signature automatically to each of the remaining entities required to sign the agreement text in order for the agreement to be binding; in that each of said entities signs the document electronically and returns said document to the central unit, which checks that the text of the document is protected and that the accompanying signatures have been made by authorised persons from both or all parties; and in that, when the text has been signed by all authorised entities, the central unit automatically activates means for initiating conditions set and chosen in the text.
 2. An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the document contains or has added thereto information relating to the person or persons that has/have been given the necessary authority by participating parties to endorse and electronically sign said document, and a requisite sequential order.
 3. An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein said document contains one or more instructions and/or one or more agreements.
 4. An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the central unit includes first means, for establishing and/or checking whether or not the authority-related information from both or all parties is correct, with the aid of a register accessible to the central unit, wherein, if the authority-related information is correct, the central unit uses second means, that can be activated to enable the central unit to carry out the measures given in the incoming document, in accordance with the instructions or agreements given in said document.
 5. An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the document has added thereto information relating to those persons that have the necessary authority to sign the document on behalf of a party, and the electronic address of said persons.
 6. An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein said instructions, related to an economic transaction, is sent to the central unit, a banking institution or the like.
 7. An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein in that the instructions, sent to the central unit, are related to an agreement between two or more slave units of respective parties.
 8. An arrangement according to claim 7, wherein the central unit includes or co-acts with third means, functioning to allow said document and/or said instructions or agreements to be copied and sent to each person or entity that shall sign the document with its instructions or agreements electronically in his/her capacity of an authorised person.
 9. An arrangement according to claim 8, wherein when each person sends his/her copy of the document, bearing instructions or agreements and duly signed electronically by said person in his/her capacity of a person authorised in respect of a first party, the central unit is allowed to send a copy of the thus signed document bearing said instructions or agreements to each authorised person of a second party for signing of the document bearing said instructions or agreements electronically.
 10. An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the central unit includes or co-acts with fourth means, for carrying out requisite authority checks in an archive or the like, in which relevant powers of attorney for participating parties are stored.
 11. An arrangement according to claim 10, wherein said archive includes a number of organisation identities, such as organisation numbers, current e-mail addresses, company seats, certificates relating to private keys of party-associated persons.
 12. An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the central unit co-acts with or includes fifth means, for the registration of powers of attorney relating to party-associated persons, wherein the arrangement includes the possibility of altering information stored in said register, such as the duration of an appointment, the activation of a blocking function, and/or the insertion of new information.
 13. An arrangement according to claim 12, wherein said register includes a number of authority codes.
 14. An arrangement according to claim 13, wherein said authority codes are structured to enable the determination of conditions that are tied to a chosen instruction or to a chosen agreement.
 15. An arrangement according to claim 13, wherein a first authority code denotes that the authority required exists in a signature from each member of the Board; in that a second authority code denotes that the authority required resides in the joint signing of two or more given persons; in that a third authority code denotes that the authority required resides solely in the signature of the Managing Director (routine business matters); in that a fourth authority code denotes that the authority required resides in a message sent to a board member, such as the Chairman of the Board; and in that a fifth authority code denotes that the authority required is a so-called financial power of attorney. 